


Glimpse Something Green

by mongoose_bite



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mad Max, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 13:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4265622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/pseuds/mongoose_bite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You're kind,” he said abruptly.</p><p>Levi raised an eyebrow. “My kind of what?”</p><p>He shook his head. “My name is Eren.”</p><p>“Okay. Hello Eren.”</p><p>Written for the prompt: I was going past and you fell out of a tree. This is a Mad Max AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glimpse Something Green

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bfketh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfketh/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Мимолетная зелень](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4481270) by [ohne_titel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohne_titel/pseuds/ohne_titel)



> Happy Birthday bfketh! I'm quite sure this wasn't what you expected from the prompt, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.

The tree was stark white against the blue sky, a skeleton. As soon as Levi had spotted it he'd altered course; you never knew. Anything that wasn't fucking rocks and sand could be a resource, and people gravitated to landmarks. Often they died there too; Levi wasn't too proud to scavenge from the dead.

That's what everyone did; buzzing across the corpse of a desiccated world like flies.

Levi's vehicle crawled across the dunes, fat, soft tyres flattening over the sand, keeping him from getting bogged. He was looking forward to more solid ground, and the tree was a good sign. Once it would have sunk its roots into proper soil, which was probably still there somewhere under the sand.

There was something at the base of the tree; a pile of something. Probably a corpse in the middle of it, but that was fine. Levi kept his eyes peeled and a hand on the throttle as he approached, but there were no signs of life. He stopped a handful of meters from the tree and killed the engine and listened.

Nothing but the eternal sigh of sand on sand.

He carried his rifle over his shoulder as he approached the bundle at the foot of the tree. It looked like an abandoned pack, but he couldn't see the owner, dead or alive. He jumped back instinctively, swinging his weapon up as he heard a sharp crack from above him.

There was a yell and a splintering sound and one of the dead branches just dropped right off, and the person who'd been standing on it, hidden from Levi's gaze behind the trunk, fell with it.

He landed with a whoomp in a shower of splinters and dried wood and he lay there wheezing, the air knocked out of his lungs as Levi cautiously approached. He'd skinned both his forearms on the way down trying to cling on to the trunk, and Levi could see blood welling from the abraded and splintered skin.

Levi kept his distance. Rifle lowered but not too far. Whoever he was, Levi didn't give much for his chances; out this far with nothing more than he could carry. He wondered how he even got here.

The stranger scrambled to his feet, wincing and staggering and still trying to get his breath back, going for the pistol in his belt with surprisingly steady hands, and blazing eyes that stared out of a wind-bitten and dusty face framed by tangled brown hair and a bit of chin scruff. Just a kid, Levi thought, a bit unfairly.

Levi didn't flinch when the stranger raised the gun. You didn't raise a weapon that slowly if you intended to fire it.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Levi said. “Unless you try and hurt me.”

The kid didn't answer, instead scuttling towards his pack, keeping Levi in his sights. He moved with a limp and blood was dripping off his elbows. Levi sighed, irritated at himself for feeling that familiar heart squeeze.

He just couldn't help it, and it was a wonder it hadn't cost him his life, but his first instinct was always to look after people.

It didn't usually work out.

“What were you doing up there?” Levi asked. It was quite an impressive climb; a lot of energy to expend on something quite pointless.

For a while it didn't seem he was going to get an answer.

“Seeds,” was the hoarse reply.

“What?”

The kid jerked his head up and Levi craned his neck.

“You can eat them.”

“Oh. Is that why you're out here?”

He shook his head.

Levi slung his rifle over his shoulder. He didn't sense a threat. The kid didn't want to hurt him, which was a good sign. Too many people lashed out first, and Levi would be obliged to retaliate.

“I'll let you get back to it then.” Levi said. “But I'm going to take this,” he gestured at the fallen branch. The stranger blinked at him and lowered his gun, looking bewildered.

Levi found what he was looking for in the wood of the dead tree; it was eaten through. And what eats can be eaten in turn. The branch snapped easily and he trimmed off the smaller bits and tied them in a bundle to the back of his vehicle. The main branch he'd drag along behind.

The kid sat on his pack, watching every move Levi made and trying to clean the wounds on his forearms with a piece of cloth.

“Do you want me to treat it?” Levi asked eventually.

He shrank back, shaking his head.

“Okay. That's fine. I'll get you something.” He went to his car and collected a mostly-empty water bag and a pair of needle-nose pliers. He tossed them both at the stranger's feet. Wary glance, and he scooped them up.

Once he had the proper tools he worked much more efficiently, yanking the bits of wood out of his skin and washing away the dirt and blood with quick, sure movements. When he was done he drank the rest of the water, and Levi didn't object.

It took quite a while, and the sun was going down, but Levi wasn't certain he wanted to sleep around a stranger. He was tossing up whether to make a camp or get out when his belongings were returned to him.

The stranger had bandaged his own forearms with more cloth from his meagre supplies, but Levi thought they'd probably be fine, given how careful he'd been with the pliers.

“Thanks,” he said rustily. As soon as Levi's fingers closed around the objects he stepped back.

“I'm Levi,” Levi said.

He got a wary smile in response, but it was better than nothing. Levi rubbed the back of his neck. Fuck it. He thought of those eyes boring into the back of his head as he drove off and knew he wasn't going to leave just yet. The kid was young and strong and not stupid; it didn't make sense he was out here, and he was going die if he remained and that, that would be a shame.

Levi tapped the trunk of the tree with the handle of his knife, while the kid observed carefully. When he found a hollow part he dug into the wood, tearing and chipping away at it. It took him a while before he found the first grub and he ate it immediately. The kid drifted closer.

Levi offered him the next one, and he snatched it out of his hand. Levi could only cover the first six feet of the tree, and once he'd stepped back, half a dozen grubs in sluggish pile, the kid took out his own blade and held it between his teeth as he wrapped his arms and legs around the trunk and inched his way up.

“Not bad,” Levi said.

He had enough bits and pieces to make a fire, although he was wary about setting one. He hadn't seen anyone but the kid for days, and he decided to risk it.

His companion was thorough. Despite arms and legs that had to be aching, he tap-tap-tapped on the tree until most of the light had gone from the sky and when he returned to earth he had great handfuls of grubs in an improvised cloth sling.

Levi cooked them over the tiny fire with a sprinkle of salt crust; one of the few natural resources that were abundant.

“Protein,” the kid said, when Levi gave him his share. He sat close to the fire, but not too close to Levi, which suited him just fine.

“Huh, yeah.”

He caught the kid looking at him a few times, but he didn't say anything until the fire was dead and Levi said he was going to sleep in his car.

“You're kind,” he said abruptly.

Levi raised an eyebrow. “My kind of what?”

He shook his head. “My name is Eren.”

“Okay. Hello Eren.”

That seemed to be the end of it. Levi slept lightly, one eye metaphorically open, but Eren curled himself up next to his pack and didn't move all night.

Levi woke while it was still only getting light. He preferred to get moving before it got too hot. Eren awoke as soon as he stepped out of the car, jerking from sleep to upright wakefulness in one fearful movement.

“Just taking a piss,” Levi said. Luckily Eren didn't stare at him while he did _that._

Levi made sure the branches were secure and ran a blade over his face dry as he got ready to leave.

Eren approached him, his pack in his arms. He held it out to him, the whole thing.

“Can I come?”

He still stared, but his eyes had a pleading edge. Levi gently pushed the pack back into his arms.

“All right,” he said. “But keep your stuff. You climb pretty well, and that's enough.”

His smile wasn't wary this time, it was sweet, and Levi saw the human underneath the grime and fear, and it felt painful and familiar. He turned away.

They managed to fit Eren's pack in the back and Eren sat next to Levi with his hands on his lap.

“How are your arms?” Levi asked.

He got a shrug in response.

Levi started the engine and they left the tree far behind. Levi had an actual destination in mind; one of the wells around which had congregated a sort of trading hub. It was a civilised as civilised got. Eren didn't ask where they were going. He spent most of the time sunk in worried thought, hanging his head or staring out the window, starting to scratch at his bandages and stopping himself.

But he was helpful. Levi didn't really want to order him around, but all he had to do was start a job and if it was something two could do Eren would help. If he asked him to do something, Eren would, usually without a word.

They ran out of dunes and they paused to put more air in the tyres. Working the hand pump was exhausting, but Eren went at it like his life depended on it, shedding his coat and then his shirt while sweat trickled down his ribs.

Levi eyed him off. He looked thin and bony but not too malnourished; he'd grown up somewhere with an adequate food supply at least. He didn't have any slave marks or tattoos, just a handful of random scars. His skin browned rather than burnt in the sun, unlike Levi's, which obliged him to keep his shirt on and a cloth draped over his head when he took his turn at the pump.

When the well and its surrounding village came me into view, Levi paused and explained what he intended to do.

“Do you want me to drop you off there?” Levi asked.

He shook his head.

“Would you prefer to stay in the car?”

Another shake.

“So you want to come with me?”

Nod.

“All right.”

They drove in through a semi-permanent collection of homes; mud brick, tents and immobile vehicles pinned, cemented and wedged together in a chaotic mass. The trading took place in an open area near the crevice that marked the well itself, peace strictly enforced by the warlord who owned it.

Eren stared out the windows, swinging his head back and forth, taking everything in. He didn't look overawed, just focused.

He's looking for someone, Levi realised.

He didn't find them. He shadowed Levi silently as Levi exchanged salt and the wood he'd collected from the tree for water, guzzoline and ammunition. Salt was plentiful in some places but these places weren't pleasant or easy to get to and that was mostly how he made a living. He was an old hand, recognised and waved through to the auctioneers.

They ate char-grilled crow, cracking the bigger bones in their teeth and licking out the marrow. They spent the night in the more temporary part of the encampment, watchful and not sleeping well.

Eren usually bundled himself up and slept outside the car, but this time he curled up in his seat next to Levi without a word. It was like that from then on.

The well was lost in the heat haze behind them when Eren spoke.

“Where are you going now?” It might have been the first question he'd ever asked Levi.

“Going bone-picking. You heard all that talk; lots of fighting further north. We won't be the only ones looking for scrap though. It might be dangerous.”

“That's okay. I can fight.”

“You're talkative today.” Levi cursed himself when Eren didn't reply, and he didn't say much until they'd stopped for the night.

They didn't have a fire; it was too close to the well for Levi's liking and a fire could be seen for miles, so they sat and looked up at the stars.

And Eren started to talk.

He talked and talked. About his friends, about how they grew up together in a place that was green. About how they had to leave when it was attacked by raiders, the adults fighting while the children fled. About how they survived. About how, only a couple of weeks ago Eren drew the attention of slavers to protect his friends, how they pursued him into the desert. How his bike had eventually broken beyond repair and how he'd gotten lucky and hid and how he came to be wandering with only what he could carry.

How he wondered if his friends thought he'd abandoned them. Or that he'd died. It was them he'd been searching for at the well.

Eren talked himself hoarse and kept going in a whisper as the stars wheeled overhead. Everything he could think of, packing his life into words. How much he wanted to see something green again, how he was determined to make something grow someday. Make the world right again, even if it was just the merest glimpse.

Eventually he fell asleep, still muttering, slumped against Levi's shoulder. He jerked awake a little while later and mumbled something apologetic before they went back to the car.

Eren had said his piece, and now he wanted to hear Levi's. The next day was an endless stream of questions about the places he'd been and the things he'd seen interspersed with enquiries that he didn't wish to answer.

Eren didn't press him. He'd think of something else to ask.

They were attacked three days out, and Eren's eyes lit up and he said he wanted a bike. He went out and got one too, hurling himself off the roof of Levi's car onto the bike, jamming his knife into the neck of the rider, kicking them off and roaring in Levi's wake, flat against the machine to avoid the bullets that whistled around him.

Eventually they peeled off, like they usually did; Levi rarely had to win fights, he just had to be too much trouble to be worth the effort.

“They might be back,” Levi said, as he bandaged his bleeding knuckles. He'd disabled another bike coming up alongside and had nearly lost his arm in the process. Eren was examining his new vehicle happily.

Eren might not have been a threat, but he was definitely dangerous, and he'd claimed his sister was even more skilled. Levi entertained the idea that Eren's friends might actually be still alive. Eren himself had gone to a different place while the battle raged, fearless and oddly frightening. Uncaring of his own life. He didn't seem too worried at the idea their attackers might come back for the bike.

Fuck it. This direction was bad luck anyway.

Levi got out his hand-drawn maps.

“Okay, where did you last see your friends?” he asked.

Eren beamed at him.

The bike was not perfect and going back over the dunes it broke down with depressing regularity. Eren, swathed in cloth and wearing goggles to keep the sand out of his eyes suggested abandoning it more than once, but it was still valuable. Worth keeping and trading if nothing else.

So they sat in the meagre shade of the car, working away at it. Eren cursed steadily, his frustration with the machine growing.

“Take a break,” Levi suggested.

“Or fuck the whole fucking thing!” Eren snarled, shoving it away and burying his face in his hands. “I'm sorry, Levi,” he said, his voice muffled.

“Why?”

“My memory is shit. All these dunes look the same and I'm just wasting your time. We might not ever find them.”

“That's true, we might not,” Levi said. “But that doesn't meant it's a waste of time. What else is there to do?”

“I just wish I could find something green again. I miss it. I miss everyone.” He was curled in on himself, and Levi knew he felt guilty about his friends, although Levi couldn't see what else he could have done. “This world is horrible.”

He sounded so young then. Levi didn't know how. He'd met people half his age who sounded ancient, but something about Eren remained bright. Hopeful even when he was feeling hopeless; the truly hopeless didn't cry, they just stared blankly ahead.

“There's green here,” Levi said.

“Where? Where is it?” Eren shouted, waving his arms at the endless dunes.

“I can show you.” That shut him up quickly. “You might not like it, though.”

Eren blinked at him curiously. Levi sighed and fished around for something shiny. He found a wide-bladed knife and gave it a wipe and carefully handed it to Eren, holding it up so his own face was reflected.

“Right there. Greenest fucking things I've seen for years.” Eren took the blade carefully and stared at his own reflection. “It's not a joke,” Levi said. He didn't want Eren to think he was being mocked. “Your eyes are really green.”

He half expected Eren to be insulted, but instead he stared intently at his reflection in silence for a while.

“That's me,” Eren said. “I haven't seen my reflection in so long.” He lifted his hand, touched his jaw, his hair. “I have a beard!”

“If you want to call it that.”

“Ugh.” He touched the matted mess of his hair, trying to drag his fingers through it. “This is gross. No wonder it itches.”

“I can cut it for you if you want,” Levi said.

“Yeah? Like yours?”

“Maybe not that much.”

“Okay, yeah. Thanks Levi.”

He seemed pretty enthusiastic and sat on the bonnet of the car, but his cheerful smile faded when Levi approached with a blade.

“We don't have to do this,” Levi said. “You could cut the worst off yourself.”

“It's fine.” He recognised Eren dropping back into his original monosyllabic style. Levi sighed and approached, nudging Eren's legs apart so he could stand close.

“Say something and I'll stop at any point, okay?”

Nod.

“Don't move your head!”

Eren clenched his hands into fists and Levi frowned.

“Okay, look.” He picked up one of Eren's hands and settled it on his hip. “You don't have to say anything. Just squeeze and I'll stop. Got it?”

Nod.

It would have to do. Levi carefully picked up a strand of hair and started slicing through it.

Squeeze. Almost immediately. He stopped and took his hands away.

“No good?”

Eren smiled at him and he felt the fingers on his hip squeeze again.

“Keep going?”

Nod.

Levi started again. He felt Eren's fingers twitch sometimes, but he didn't squeeze as Levi sawed off the worst tangles. When he shifted around to do the other side, Eren put both hands on Levi's hips.

“I won't stand behind you and do the back,” Levi said. “So bend your head forward. That's it. Nearly done.” He paused slightly when Eren rested his forehead on Levi's chest, and then kept working.

“Done,” Levi said, wiping the few hairs off his knife and putting it back in the scabbard against his leg. Eren didn't move, and Levi didn't step away.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “For everything.” His fingers squeezed.

Levi put a hand on the back of Eren's head, cautiously, and Eren turned his head, pressing his cheek against Levi's chest. Okay. They stood like that for a while, Levi gently stroking Eren's hair.

When Eren pulled away his eyes were bright and he smiled.

Eren still had to fix his bike and they decided to make camp. Eren sat very close to Levi, reaching up and touching his own hair every so often. He'd done his best to trim his beard as well; a marginal improvement.

“What are we gonna do when we find them?” Eren asked.

Levi shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

“I don't want you to go,” Eren said, his shoulder brushing Levi's. “You might get hurt or something and I wouldn't know. I hate that. I hate not knowing if they're okay or where they are or anything.”

Levi sighed. “I guess we'll see.”

“Do you want to go?

“No.”

“Good.” Eren very deliberately settled down against Levi's side, his head on his shoulder. He was pretending it was nothing, pretending to be relaxed, but Levi could feel the tension in him, in muscles and heartbeat.

He wrapped an arm around Eren's bony shoulders, and Eren finally relaxed.

“I didn't really know my eyes were green. I never thought about it,” Eren said. “I like green.”

“Yeah.”

“Levi.” Eren leaned up, craning his neck, and pressed his lips to the corner of Levi's mouth. Levi let him. He couldn't move, like he was turned to stone as he felt warm lips on his skin. “Is this okay?”

Levi looked at him. In starlight, his eyes looked black, but he knew they were green. The most beautiful shade he'd ever seen.

“Yeah,” he said. He kissed him back. Tried to. Didn't really know what he was doing. They pressed their lips together and Eren's stubble pricked at his skin and Eren opened his mouth and it was sort of disgusting but Levi found himself unable to pull away, cupping Eren's jaw, his teeth snagging on chapped lips, not disgusting. Breathing through his nose.

He didn't want to stop. Eren put his arms around his neck and shifted closer and Levi ran his hands up and down his back, a bit startled and unnerved by how much he liked it. Eren was just another person.

Like no other person.

They practised, and it got better, breathing around each other's lips, hands wandering.

“Levi,” Eren said, his hands flexing against his shoulders. His mouth opened and shut again as he tried to work out what he wanted to say. “I want to stay with you.”

Levi reached up and brushed his fingers over Eren's newly-cut hair, bewildered by the sensation of someone being so close, someone wanting to be so close to him. “You can,” he said. Eren smiled at him, bumping their foreheads together, his breath warm on his face.

Eren could stay as long as he liked, and Levi hoped it would be a long time. He understood now what might make a man start searching for the merest glimpse of that incredible shade of green.


End file.
